The present invention relates generally to a retail checkout terminal, and especially to self-service terminals. More particularly, the invention concerns systems and methods for improving the security of self-service checkout processes and to personalize the security features based on customer metrics.
In the retail grocery or supermarket industry, the impetus to reduce labor costs has focused on reducing or eliminating the amount of time required to handle and/or process the products purchased by the customer. To this end, a number of self-service checkout terminals have been developed which substantially eliminate the need for a checkout clerk. In particular, the typical self-service checkout terminal is operated by the customer without the aid of a checkout clerk. In such a system, the customer scans individual items for purchase across a scanner and then places the scanned items into a grocery bag. The customer then pays for the purchases either at the self-service terminal itself or at a central payment area staffed by a store cashier.
The customer typically has little or no training in the operation of a self-service checkout terminal prior to his/her initial use of the terminal. Customer inexperience and sometimes more nefarious intentions in the use of the self-service checkout require the integration of some form of security into the checkout terminal. Such security prevents a customer from either inadvertently or deliberately placing an item into a grocery bag without first scanning the item to enter the price of the item onto the final bill.
Thus, the typical self-service terminal includes security systems that monitor the operation of the terminal and the activities of the customer. For example, weight scales are incorporated into the terminal to monitor the total weight of the items brought by the customer to the terminal and the total weight of the items placed in a grocery bag. In such security systems, a software routine is executed by a computer or processor associated with the terminal that analyzes the signal output from the weight scale, as well as other user-interfaces of the terminal. The typical software routine compares the weight of each item as it is scanned with a database of expected weight values. Any discrepancy results in the generation of an error message and a pause in the checkout routine until the customer takes appropriate corrective action, such as re-scanning the merchandise.
One known self-checkout terminal 10 used in a supermarket setting is depicted in FIG. 1. The terminal 10 includes a product weight scale 12 and a scanner 14 associated with the scale. A bagging scale 20 is provided adjacent the scanner to support grocery bags 40 into which the customer places each newly scanned item. The terminal 10 includes a cart scale sized to support a fully loaded shopping cart 21 and a basket scale 19 configured to support a shopping basket 23 full of products. Each of the scales 12, 18, 19 and 20 include at least one weight detector, such as a pressure sensor or a load cell sensor, which is operable to generate a signal in response to the weight of the item(s) placed on the scale. A kiosk 24 includes a display 32, data input device 34 and a payment device 30. A computer or processor 26 is resident within the terminal and executes various software routines associated with the self-checkout process.
One of those routines accepts weight signals from the scales 12, 18, 19 and 20. In one type of weight verification routine, the mean weight Mn of each product or item 1 through n available in the supermarket is stored in a database along with a weight standard deviation SDn for each item. As an item is scanned by the scanner 14, the weight measured at the bagging scale 18, 19 or 20 is compared to a weight range calculated from the mean and standard deviation data extracted for that item from the database. If the weight falls within that calculated range, the entry is accepted. If the weight falls outside the mean weight Mn± the standard deviation SDn, the entry is rejected and the customer is instructed to re-scan and/or re-weigh the item. In addition, in some terminals, a weight error is communicated to a store attendant as part of the terminal security measures. The routine continuously updates the mean weight and standard deviation values for each item with each new accepted observation of the weight of that item.
There are a number of scenarios in the self-checkout process that can interrupt the transaction. For instance, the customer may place the wrong item in the bagging area, or the item can be placed in the bagging area without first having been scanned to log the purchase. Other errors arise when items or bags of items are removed from the bagging area at inappropriate times. The highest level of security can catch all deviations from the expected norm, as represented principally by a comparison of the cumulative product weights at the beginning and end of the transaction. However, the highest level of security requires the highest level of scrutiny of each transaction and each product being purchased, which necessarily leads to the highest rate of rejection of attempted purchases or entire transactions. This generally unforgiving level of security can significantly increase the amount of time needed to complete a transaction and can greatly increase customer frustration.
On the other hand, the lowest level of security allows all errors to pass without recourse. Of course, this approach is unacceptable. However, lower acceptable levels of security may still make theft or fraud in the transaction much easier for high risk customers. Of course, the benefit to the customer of lower security levels is that fewer erroneous product transfers or transactions are noted, which speeds the process and makes it less unpleasant.
While some customers may be reliable or trustworthy enough to merit reduced security measures, other customers may be high risk. Thus, there is a need for a system and method that can meet the security needs of the retail establishment as well as the legitimate needs and desires of all users of the system.